The Crying Game
by Scarlett Rogue
Summary: Blaine always acted invincible, so Kurt treated him as such. After a chance encounter with his past bullies, however, Kurt is reminded that nobody is impervious to heartbreak and tears.


**Summary: Blaine always acted invincible, so Kurt treated him as such. After a chance encounter with his past bullies, however, Kurt is reminded that nobody is impervious to heartbreak and tears.**

**Rated: T **

"No, the sparkly one still looks better on you." Blaine stuck his jaw out in a stubborn manner.

"I think the sparkles make me look like a cheap drag queen." Kurt tossed aside the shimmery green scarf and moved away from the rack. Blaine threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

"What's the point of asking for my opinion if you never listen to it?" He muttered, playfully flicking his boyfriend's ear.

"Because you're cute when you're frustrated." He swatted Blaine's fingers away from his ear, only to find them replaced by his lips. Kurt blushed bright red when he felt Blaine's hot breath against his neck.

"So you _are_ trying to kill me?" His words were much to husky for Kurt to even allow himself to process in the middle of a crowded store. He pulled away fast and tugged on Blaine's hand.

"Come on, I think I need a coffee."

Kurt and Blaine made their way through the huge mall in Westerville, dodging small children who were eagerly racing each other to get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. The whole idea of Easter creeped Blaine out now that he was older and he shuddered when he thought of all those poor innocent children sitting on a strange man's lap.

They strolled through the mall, hand in hand, sharing shy glances every few seconds before looking away quickly. Blaine felt comfortable with Kurt, more comfortable than he had ever felt in his life. That was only to be expected. Kurt was always the stronger one. He could go through life facing the harsh actions of others and still hold his head high at the end of the day, unashamed of what others deemed to be vast imperfection. The thought made Blaine want to laugh out loud. _I see perfection standing before me. _

He finally felt like he could be himself; screw anyone who tried to drag him down.

Kurt's thoughts were right on track with Blaine's, or at least, very close. Kurt thought he had found his angel. Blaine was so strong, so courageous, so invincible to all the things that had broken Kurt over the years. What ate at Kurt only made Blaine stronger and more confident- or so he thought.

"Ohmygod, is that-? It is! Jack, Jack get over here, you have to see this!"

Blaine recognized the name. He had heard that voice far too many times to not recognize that in an instant. And he recognized the hulking "man" that stepped in front of him a second later with a wide grin stretching all the way across his face.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite queer Hobbit!" Riley slapped Blaine on the back, hard. He caught himself before stumbling over; he refused to let them get the best of him. Blaine cast a sideways glance at Kurt, who was sizing the two guys up with a suspicious pucker of his delicate lips.

"Hey, guys." _Stay calm, it'll all blow over. _Blaine forced himself to smile and act as if they were the best of friends at one point. And maybe they were humoring him, because they seemed to want to play along.

"Hey buddy! God, how long has it been now? Two years? Damn, Hobbit, didn't think you could stay away from your friends for so long." Jack absentmindedly stretched his arms over his head, simultaneously cracking his knuckles. Blaine wanted to hit him, hit him hard for everything the stupid jock had put him through. He also wanted to run.

But he couldn't. No, it was time for him to take his own advice. Courage.

"Yeah man, we used to have so much fun! Remember the time we locked you in the pool room with that big ass snake that Brad got from his Granny's house? Oh man, the look on your face when you got out!"

The hairs on the back of Blaine's neck started to stick up. He remembered that day, all right. He had nightmares for a month afterward and couldn't even look at a snake without crying anymore. But he wouldn't cry. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"So, who's your friend?" They were both eying Kurt with a dangerous twinkle in their eyes. Kurt stepped forward, ignoring Blaine's fierce tug on his side, and stuck his hand out.

"Kurt Hummel, Head Bitch of Lima." Though Kurt spoke with polite formality in spite of his words, his eyes were hard and his muscles tense.

"Nice, are you two like, butt pirates?" The jocks cracked up, high-fiving each other like immature children.

"I don't know, do you perhaps have a brain? Because anyone with a brain could have come up with a better insult than that. I'm gay and I could have insulted gays better than you."

"Hey, we have brai-"

"Shut up, Jack." Riley turned to Kurt and took a step forward. Blaine tried to pull him back but Kurt wouldn't budge. "You know what else we have, homo? A family that cares about us." He cast a smug grin Blaine's way.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kurt's cheeks were turning bright pink.

"Leave it alone, Kurt." Blaine tried once more to pull his boyfriend away and this time Kurt obliged, but his eyes were full of questions. Blaine shook his head while the jocks laughed.

"You know what? You two are boring me. Imma go get me some good eats." They both started to walk away, but then Riley turned around for a second.

"And one more thing, Blaine? Tell your dad I said congratulations on passing the anti-gay marriage bill. Ohio thanks him! You must be proud to have such a moral Father." At that he turned and sauntered away from Blaine and Kurt. Kurt was watching Blaine carefully for some sign of emotion.

"Let's go get that coffee, shall we?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Blaine stood quietly as they waited in line for coffee. Kurt wasn't stupid, he knew Blaine was upset. And it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was mad about. Blaine's phone rang and he checked the caller id before scuffing in disgust at the small screen.

"My dad..." he whispered and he pulled his phone. Kurt knew Blaine was upset; he could see the angry set of his jaw, the slightly higher-than-usual arch of his eyebrows. This was only the second time he had ever seen Blaine upset, and it hurt him. It hurt him so much more because he had always seen Blaine as invincible.

But the next minute would completely ruin that premise.

"Hey dad, guess who I just got done talking to? Riley and Jack Branson, from Seton. Mm-hmm. Yup, those guys? You remember, the guys who shoved me down a flight of stairs in eighth grade and broke my arm? The guys that locked me in the supply bin in the school's basement for a weekend, and nobody knew where the hell I was until the janitor heard me gagging from oxygen deprivation? Yeah, those guys."

Kurt stood next to Blaine with a look of pure horror on his usually calm features. If he had known what those two did, if he had any idea what they were capable of...

"They asked me to thank you for passing that anti-gay marriage bill. And I suppose that I should thank you, as well. For being such an amazing father and loving me and- oh wait, my apologies, I must have been thinking of someone else. You've never loved me!" Blaine's sudden shout turned heads all up and down the line. Kurt gave them dirty looks, daring them to say anything, and promptly dragged Blaine from the coffee shop. He pulled him out into the parking lot and back to his car. Safe inside the warm car, Kurt got his first taste of what Blaine's life was really like outside of Dalton.

"No, because the truth is, you never gave a damn about anyone but yourself. All you ever wanted to do was move up in life. Who cares if you have to knock a few people down, take away some rights now and then? Who cares if you have to chase away your wife or make your children hate you, as long as you move ahead, right?...Skylar hates you fucking guts! And so do I, you messed up piece of shit! Why don't you go adopt my old bullies, you'll get along real well with them!" Blaine slammed him phone shut and, with no where else to throw it, he settled with hurling it at the floor. He turned away and stared out the window in silence.

Kurt wanted to say something but he knew it would be useless. Nothing he said would change what Blaine had been through, nothing he did would make it easier on him. He touched Blaine's arm gently, causing the boy to turn and face him, and instantly a lump formed in his throat. Blaine was crying.

Kurt always thought he was invincible. He always thought Blaine was too strong to be touched, but there he sat, tears pouring down his face in anger and pain, and something between a growl and a scream slipped through his lips. He dipped his head in his hands, his shoulders beginning to shake uncontrollably. He didn't want Kurt to see him like this, to hear the sound of weakness jump from his broken heart.

But Kurt knew now why helping him was so important to Blaine when they first met, and he knew now that helping Blaine was equally important to him. He pushed his bag aside and used his cheerio strength to lift Blaine onto his lap. The older boy curled up into a ball and sobbed against his new Marc Jacobs jacket, but Kurt didn't care. Marc Jacobs could burn in hell if it meant he would never again have to see Blaine in this much pain.

"I'm s-s-sorry, I'm so fucking sorry..." It was strange to hear vulgar words leave Blaine's lips, but Kurt knew that the Blaine sitting on his lap, the Blaine that seemed suddenly like a child in his arms, the Blaine that felt too damn breakable even to Kurt, was not the same Blaine that he had created in his mind. He was no superman, no wolverine.

He was fragile. He needed Kurt more than Kurt had ever needed him. He needed someone to know that, under his gelled hair, shiny shoes and dapper manner, he was still a child.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here for you. I will always be here for you." They sat like that for what felt like hours, seeing each other for the first time and falling even more in love with each other because of it. And Blaine was glad for this, because he needed Kurt now more than ever.

**Please review and tell me what you think. This idea has been floating around in my mind for a while, but I was sure that if I typed it, it wouldn't be nearly as good. I was right, of course, but what did you guys think? Thanks for reading!**


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